Nicotinamide N-Methyltransferase Enzyme in Mice Could Be the Solution to Obesity and Diabetes II

A study revealed that it is possible to battle type II diabetes and obesity in the near future. Scientists have found an enzyme named nicotinamide N-methyltransferase present in the liver and fat of mice to help with these. This enzyme has the ability to help cells to burn energy efficiently.

According to researchers, this study was conducted by controlling the gene and stopping the production of this enzyme, which helps mice to gain weight on high-fat diet. Further, mice showed positive response to insulin to process blood sugar level. Precisely, it means that the possibility of developing diabetes is lowered.

According to the author Dr Barbara Kahn, Harvard Medical School professor and the VC of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess medical Centre, mice was actually eating a normal high-fat diet and was showing high energy expenditure in comparison to the intake of calories. Dr Kahn added that in human beings, by controlling the enzyme level one could help maintain a normal weight by burning the excess energy instead of storing them as fat, which leads to obesity. So this would be a speedy process of cellular metabolic activity which might support the exercise and diet plans for an obese person.

However, she said that research on animals does not mean that it will work on humans. But if it does, it would be a great relief for the epidemic of obesity. Role of this enzyme was accidentally discovered when research was done on finding the relationship between body fat and type II diabetes development. Researchers were studying over 1000 genes that were present in mice fat for this study she added.

Mice that are prone to become obese or get diabetes had large amounts of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase present in fat. Though this enzyme had already been discovered, link between the cellular metabolism and NNMT is a new finding.